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I think the reason the dev forums exist is to provide a place where the implementation of features can be discussed without getting mixed up with other debates when someone believes what the devs are doing is wrong. We often post public discussion threads for features with subjective elements like the frob outline, because community feedback is very important. But there will always be vocal defenders with strong views for or against certain features, or how exactly it should be implemented in their opinion. At some point a decision has to be made and be carried through, which is what the dev forums are for. Almost all of the threads are very technical, basically explaining and discussing recent or potential code changes with other devs. Its hard to say. Its a hobby the devs do in their spare time, so people come and go when they're in the mood and when they have the time. The team page is mostly accurate except for some relatively newer additions like myself.

OK I think I've got to the bottom of this. I've created this forum thread (with bug report): https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22221-bug-drowning-ai-in-shallow-water/ I can apply a workaround, although it won't be perfect and the bug itself needs fixing in the engine. There are a few other things that need fixing so will put an update together soonish.

If any mappers have encountered weirdness with kill objectives not working with drowning AI, I think I've found out why. I don't think it would be a particularly difficult one to fix either. I've raised this bug report: https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=6323 Some context here: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/21837-fan-mission-the-lieutenant-2-high-expectations-by-frost_salamander-20230424/&do=findComment&comment=487316 I think this is a bug, but just raising here in case some people think otherwise.

So far yes. But I haven't moved past that, so I don't know what other problems might come up, if any. I don't know if model formats are going to be a problem.

How you can help depends a lot on what skills you have. I can Record Video Recording "Let's Play" videos or simple walkthroughs of existing missions and posting them to Youtube is great exposure for the mod (see example .) Be sure to let us know so we can link to them. If you have some editing ability, Video tutorials, where you explain how the mod works, or how to use specific tools, would also be great. Video trailers, showcasing interesting places and features, are also great for publicity. An example is . I can Write Writing reviews for missions are always nice, especially if they include good screenshots. Not only does it give us something to post on other forums, but it makes mappers feel good when their mission gets attention (especially if it's positive). We have a collective thread to post reviews in: http://forums.thedar...s-walkthroughs/ Writing reviews of the mod as a whole, targetted an an audience that doesn't know much about TDM, is also very useful. You could also try offering your services to mappers to create interesting readables, or to proofread for their mission. I can Act and Record Audio We are always on the lookout for good quality audio recordings for vocal sets. If interested, you can pick a few different lines from this script: http://wiki.thedarkm...t:_Average_Jack and send the recordings to Springheel, who then writes a script based on the type of voice you have. I can Translate We could always use translations of our menu/hud into more languages. Also, only a few FMs are aavailable in more than one language, so there is a lot of work there, see the I18N Translator's Guide in the Wiki. I can Model Great! Take a look at the model request thread:http://forums.thedar...-requests-here/ and pick something that interests you. Or just post a, "Hey, anybody want a model?" thread in this forum and I'm sure mappers will get back to you. I can Animate Fantastic. We can always use more good animations. Our current character rigs use a Maya skeleton. PM Springheel for more info. I know C++ Have a look at our coding section in the wiki, pick an issue or feature from the bugtracker of the mod or the leveleditor, download the recent sourcecode release (or better ask for an SVN checkout) and get cracking. Make sure nobody is already working on that specific issue and feel free to ask questions. I can Edit Images We can always use completely new textures and/or improved versions of older textures. How to get started and how to import them into the mod. I can Take Photos Good quality photos of useful textures (medieval-ish building facades, dirt, rocks, wood, etc) are always welcome. The fewer directional shadows and higher resolution, the better. I don't have any skills Even if you can't do any of the above, you can still help out. Talk about TDM in other forums; share your (preferably positive) experiences with other gamers you know. Last, but not least, compliment people when you like their work. Saying "thanks", to a developer or, "I really enjoyed your mission" to a mapper will make their day. -------------------- I'll update this further as more things occur to me.

The Siege Shop by PranQster & lowenz Version: 4.4-2 Build: Apr 26 2020 TDM 2.08 Required TDM version: 2.06 Link to version 4.4: Siege Shop Occasionally, it is possible for AI to murder each other, putting them on alert. They've all been drinking (not 'drunk' acuity AI, just bottles in hand) and sometimes they get into a scuffle at the archery range. It is very somewhat rare, but some players will undoubtedly see this. Since it is random, some may see it happen more than others. Info: This mission is my first mission, fourth release, first revision, beta. Unique credits: Arcturus' animated fish. Special thanks to: Bikerdude, Fidcal, Springheel, & Grayman for awesome technical support and advice. Extra thanks to Springheel, BikerDude, and Nosslak for additional models used (some past and some present). Thanks also to Shadowhide for the help with getting my script file working (v.1). Major Thanks to the original beta testers: Chiron, Xarg, Aprilsister, AluminumHaste (also v3), SiyahParsomen, and Midnight. Thanks, thanks, thanks, eggs, bacon and thanks to lowenz for his uber-help on v.3+. His advice really helped to make a better mission. * Previous-previous Release February 11 2020. This is not final and is still WIP, but I had to get the OpenAL EFX working. Added OpenAL EFX to all locations. Tested fine for me and 'efxs/siegeshop.efx' was added to the .pk4 file. Fixed fog at waterfall inside the cave. Moved a guard's starting position and another guard's rit corner. Increased density of plants and added one grass variety (more & moving grass to come). Added a torch near the balloon and moved the existing one. Changed & moved torch above cave waterfall to make it easier to aim a rope arrow. Changed the weird little support for the end of the drawbridge. Added a plant (yes, just one) to the moat bottom. More to come. Tried to make the web of the (harmless) cave spider more visible. * Previous Release March 16 2020. This is likely the final version. Hah! Who am I kidding, I'll never be done with this mission. Current changes: Minor tweaks to the start area in the cave. New trees and plants in the outdoor area. Added bushes along the moat. Added some (broken) bars to the open end of the moat. Modified the design of the basket for the hot air balloon. Changed the outdoor lights a bit. Fixed some leaky brushwork and leaking light near the key room. Made sure the cook spends more time cooking than he has been doing. Gave the cook a bit more to work with in the kitchen. Added more rain splash to the top floor area. Made the guards to do more than sit down when visiting the loo. Stunk the place up a bit. Gave a snail some purpose in life. Decorated several rooms and under the stairs. Moved a little loot and added some too. Shed some light on the rec. room, so it's a bit harder to venture there now. Modified a few RIT paths. There is a generator room now where there were two dungeon cells before. Freshened up some blood. The flies have multiplied. A couple sounds were changed. A few empty mugs were filled, Reverted the workshop to a lighter rock texture. The drawbridge now moves one time only, since multiple uses can f**k it all up. The drawbridge can now be crossed again by AI once it has been opened. Whatever else I forgot... * Current Release April 26 2020. Fixed a water splash particle which does not render in TDM 2.08 Removed some non-functioning portals Current Issues: With TDM 2.08, sometimes AI come to a standoff when entering or exiting an elevator. If you should witness this, please be a kind citizen and send them to another floor. They'll figure it out after that.In the meantime, I will experiment with adjusting their path networks so they have less tendency of being stubborn in the elevator. I'll try some modern social distancing in the elevator if it is possible. Still a mystery. I only have seen this with TDM 2.08 The ragdoll in the dungeon has decided to mis-behave. I suppose it's time to replace it with one of the bagged corpse models and be done with it. Fixed in upcoming v. 5.0 "WARNING:Detected 114 func_static-s with bad rotation:" Need to re-scale each these with the proper technique, or replace them with new models or patches. Fixed in upcoming v. 5.0

Author note: It's hard to believe it's already been a year since Act 1 came out! Well during this mission the player will be following Corbin into the Grimwood district to followup on a lead from last night (Act 1) .. the mysterious tablet! This mission is my first time including full EFX support as well as a HD briefing video file, additionally a new script has been added crafted by the talented Obsttorte which has loot flying towards the player when you pick it up. On a level design front I have tried to change things up a bit by really catering towards a number of play styles, this mission can be completely ghosted or you can use the tools at your disposal to wreak havoc on the citizens of Northdale. For the first time I have tried to create more sandbox environments which don't offer clear answers handed directly to you, so if you're having trouble figuring something out try a different method. This mission takes between 1 - 2 hours to finish depending on the difficulty you play on and how thoroughly you explore. I hope you enjoy your night in Northdale! - Goldwell Voice actors Fen Phoenix Goldwell Random_taffer Yandros Beta testers Amadeus Boiler's Hiss Cambridge Spy Chakkman Crowind Epifire Kingsal SquadaFroinx Custom Assets Andreas Rocha DrK Epifire Grayman Kingsal MalachiAD Obsttorte Sotha Springheel SquadaFroinx Purgator With special thanks to Epifire for creating a large collection of custom models, Grayman for helping out with coding, Kingsal for drawing the ingame map and Moonbo for his script revision on the briefing video. Available via in-game downloader MIRROR File Size: 417 mb EDIT: If you are having performance issues please consult this post by Nbohr1more which may address your issue http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/19936-fan-mission-shadows-of-northdale-act-ii-by-goldwell-20190320/page-2?do=findComment&comment=436271

I've heard a lot of talk about this new concept of "Play to Earn" during the recent months, and I just don't get what it is. People have been selling in-game content for online games, for many, many years. People are saying that games must be played to have fun, but I'm in full disagreement with that. I largely play games for educational value and skill challenge, and I genuinely hate fun. Why can't we not have fun? If people want to treat something virtual like it's a dayjob, then why not? Are you afraid that every game will be like that, and that there won't be any fun alternatives to that? Come on. Even if all large game companies went Play to Earn today, there would still be countless indie developers who wouldn't. I hear that cryptocurrency is bad for the environment because of how much energy it takes to validate it, so why not just sell and buy for regular money instead, like it's always been done? The cryptocurrency market seems to be crashing now anyway, so it's obviously not a stable currency. It doesn't take some NFT tech, to keep a simple server-side transaction receipt, or a validation code. You don't need to validate game content like it's gold bars you've purchased. ...so I don't get the sudden resistance against this, and the treatment of virtual economies like it's a new concept. It doesn't need to involve NFT:s at all. Is it just some weird "fun" revolution, where gamers are trying to enforce "fun" in games? I feel like I'm missing an "outrage train" here, and maybe that's ultimately for the best.

Hello TDM-ers. I am encountering an issue where textures seem to partially disappear. I tried searching the forums, but, I don't know what to search for. The missing textures are a worldspawn brush acting as a roof with {for now} flat iron texture. There are other worldspawn brushes right below to create an attic ceiling with roof framework board texture. These gaps appeared a few edits ago. I can't "undo" to get back before whatever edit did this. The gaps are only visible during play and are not visible during editing. Closing and reopening DR and TDM do not fix anything. Some of the brushes overlap in areas behind the play area but I have never seen an issue doing that. The attached image has the effect I am now seeing. Ideas on where to start debugging this? Very much appreciated. Clint

(I apologize for the odd poll question layout. I wasn't able to add five yes-no questions, because polls are limited to three questions.) Hi everyone, I've recently been working on some patches for issues that I've read about from players on the TDM and TTLG forums — and Discord. My goal is to make it as easy as possible for players, especially new players and those who need usability/accessibility options, to find what they need in order to have a better TDM experience. I've already written the GUI and game engine code for these settings, which I've been using in my personal build. The reason for this poll and discussion is to both guide the finalization of my work and collect data to help inform the dev team. Which patches I submit depend on the outcome of this poll, discussion, and what the dev team agrees to accept. Once decided, I can coordinate with the dev team. I've attached screenshots of what the new settings menu would look like if all of the settings are accepted. Below, I have detailed each menu setting, so you can have an easier time understanding each one. Very important to keep in mind: None of these settings change TDM default behavior. They are all opt-in. If you are already happy with the behavior of 2.10, 2.11, etc. and these menu settings are accepted, nothing will change for you. Rename "Always Run" to "Run Mode" with options "None, Always, Toggle" After 2.11 was released, @i30817 requested that "toggle run" be added to the settings menu. Its cvar is already in TDM as "in_toggleRun" (same as Doom 3). I propose renaming the "Always Run" setting to "Run Mode" with options: "None", "Always", and "Toggle". None = in_alwaysRun 0; in_toggleRun 0 Always = in_alwaysRun 1; in_toggleRun 0 Toggle = in_alwaysRun 0; in_toggleRun 1 Show Blackjack Helper @Wellingtoncrab suggested that the new blackjack helper be added to the settings menu. Its cvar was added to 2.11 as "tdm_blackjack_indicate". More info: It's the new blackjack helper added to 2.11. When the game detects that the blackjack can be used for a successful hit or KO, the blackjack will rise slightly. I propose a "Yes/No" setting for this. Slider for "View: Head Bob" @ChronA requested a way to disable head bobbing, because a viewer watching him play was having severe motion sickness. Also, there was a bug in TDM that made setting the head bob in the console not stick after loading a saved game. (Even with 2.11, if a mission overrides the "tdm_player_thief.def" file and sets "pm_bobroll", "pm_bobpitch", "pm_bobup", and other cvars, it will override player preferences.) As far back as 2008, players have had trouble setting head bob. Another one from 2018. At the end of 2022, @Shadowex3 registered just to voice the need for a way to control head bob. I propose that a slider be added to adjust the amount of head bob. This would use a new "pm_headbob_mod" cvar with a value between 0.0 and 1.0 (default 1.0, no change). The "pm_headbob_mod" would be a multiplier for "pm_bobroll", "pm_bobpitch", and "pm_bobup". The advantage to this approach is that missions like Volta 2 and Hazard Pay would not need to adjust their "tdm_player_thief.def" files for head bob to work properly. And, the player can still adjust "pm_bobroll", "pm_bobpitch", and "pm_bobup" as they like. Slider for "View: Mantle Roll" This is similar to head bob for those who are sensitive to motion. Its cvar was added to 2.11 as "pm_mantle_roll_mod". A Thief player on Discord said, "2.11 will have a cvar to tune down the mantling animation at last." I propose that a slider be added for "pm_mantle_roll_mod". Auto-Search Bodies @Zaratul requested the "auto-search bodies" feature from Thief 1 & 2. Its cvar was added to 2.12 dev16783-10307 as "tdm_autosearch_bodies". I did a poll on the a Thief Discord server and roughly 20% of players there use the Thief auto-search bodies feature. I propose a menu setting for this, so that players coming from Thief 1 & 2 can easily find it.

Awesome! Post is up! https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22200-beta-testing-the-house-of-delisle/#comment-487365 Thanks!

Congratulations from me too! But I just replayed the final version and it probably was one of the easiest missions I ever experienced. Because if you visit the tavern early on you now get both keys and the rest of the mission is a walk in the park! Why not have Cartier only appear there after reading the note in the theatre and modifying the latter so it says something along the lines "I will do some business in the town and then take my evening meal in the tavern afterwards." Then the players would be forced to enter the theatre to read the note, exit to the tavern to get the keys and then come back again. I believe it would make the short map more challenging! Oh, and it is intended that the drunk gets up again?

For the menu setting, maybe we could re-purpose the "Show Menu Tooltips" setting. Who would want to not see the tooltips? They aren't intrusive! As for examples, two come to mind. Player frobs some junk item: Don't let everyone think an elephant entered the room. Hold down the 'Creep' key while you move objects to avoid making a ruckus. A guard starts searching the player: A guard is searching for you. If you dare blackjack them, get the drop on them from behind. Forget about bashing from a side or upfront, you'll only make things worse. First one has been a thing for a while if I'm not mistaken and should be communicated; thought we had to rely on the TDM Modpack... The blackjack effectiviness is known to cause confusion, especially on Thief players, since Garrett seemingly knows just the right spot to bash no matter the alert level of a guard. And I don't believe adding the Deadly Shadows-like animation to TDM was a proper solution; players should be able to read the situation instead of focusing on the blackjack, which sometimes you can't even see because everything is pitch dark. Of course, the second example should take in mind a previous standard explanation on blackjacking under normal circumstances when you equip the blackjack, for example.

Hi guys, through the "cheats" topic I got the idea, that it would be quite useful, if there were tags for missions (the post was about removing the killing restriction in some missions to suit the prefered play style). I don't know how easy or difficult this is, but with them, it would be quite convenient to pick missions with playstyles, environment, etc one does want to use. This could also be expanded to other mission properties. I remember a discussion about climbable drains, handles on doors, that cannot be picked and other things the map author chooses for himself. That way these things would be clearer and as I said before, it is easier to choose missions with playstyles that suit oneself. What do think?

Sure, as long as they can get to their next patrol point. If you, say, lure a guard into a bedroom with a noise arrow and lock the door behind him he just tries the handle a couple of times and then gives up because he can't get out to continue on to his next path_corner. It's a bit unrealistic that he doesn't start pounding on the door and calling for other guards to come let him out, but the alternative is giving him a secret second spare so that he can unlock the door anyway.

This is a really nice little section. I do think it can be expanded a bit though to fully flesh out some of these mechanics. First, you could also introduce water arrows because those expand moss arrow patches (at least last time I checked). Also, once the body is hidden, you could have another AI come into the room to "check your work". Finally, there could be another tiny section where you need to hide a body in a fully lit room, but to do so you have to drag/manipulate the body under, let's say, a shelf. Absolutely love the style though, very T1, very cool

This, just like click again to drop a body, is already included in the patch. If a switch, button or door are highlighted you will interact with them without dropping the body. There are probably more objects this would need to cover which will come up with more testing (readables maybe?) Seems like elements of the patched executable aren’t working with your install for some reason?

Oh no, you are changing the controls scheme. Previously body grabbing was toggle-like behavior (click to toggle between grabbed and not), now it has hold-like behavior (has to hold to drag body). Previously clicking a body did not shoulder it, now it does. Previously holding the click slightly longer did not cause a different action on a candle, now it does. The old controls scheme is consistent: you click to grab/ungrab, then you Enter to perform action on the grabbed object. The double-click scheme is also consistent: you still click to grab/ungrab, but now you also have double-click to combine grab + action. The proposed scheme is totally inconsistent. Clicking on an object grabs it, clicking again ungrabs. Clicking on a body... shoulders it... why? Then clicking again does not even unshoulder it. Long click on a candle extinguishes it without grabbing, but long click on a body grabs it... why? So you hold you mouse for grabbing bodies, but for grabbing candles this does not work... why? Sooner or later someone will come and say that objects should also be grabbed by holding, since bodies does so. And we'll make excuses like "you know, body grabbing is garbage and nobody needs it, but grabbing objects is different, so we just made different controls, and now making them similar won't work". I like the idea of making instant-shoulder and candle extinguishing easy to do, but the exact controls scheme is something very strange.

@chakkmanremoved his post and therefore it was ok to go off-topic. If he wants to come back on that decission, we can still discuss it here.

Funny, Goldwell brought up Kingdom Come as well. Wonderful game . A hybrid system of autosave locations and save items gives a lot of flexibility to the player and the mission designer. There are still level design considerations, but its not as heavy of a lift as building save rooms. Im going to try this in my next release on a custom difficulty setting.

Another way of doing this is using something like the save potions in Kingdom Come. They're not cheap or easy to get early on, but you need them to save. In Dark Mod they could be expensive 'magical time devices' that count as part of the objectives to obtain a certain number. But the more you use them to go back in time (save the game) the less you have at the end. So you balance it against your ultimate achievements stats, e.g., objective is to secure at least 50, and thre are only 100 to be found. Having all 100 at the end would mean you never saved at all! But you can still finish the mission even if you only have 10 left at the end - just not such a good stat. More realistically, a hybrid with save rooms, so you reserve the temporal devices for serious emergencies when you're desperate.

heh come to think of it i also owned an old hp workstation tower model that was an absolute nightmare to upgrade too. this model had rambus memory modules and some horrid onboard gfx card which i couldnt even upgrade with an agp model since the board only had PCI slots it came with windows 2000 server installed but i found out it also ran win98 so i retrofitted it as a monster retro computer with dual voodoo2 cards since those were quite a lot faster than the onboard card. damn thing sounded like a jetplane because the rambus memory got insanely hot hehe. the memory modules were also rather pricey but i managed to get about 16 gb slammed in there and still it was slow as molasses sigh. i sold it to some guy who just liked that it was uniq for a pittance. the 16 gb ram was not even needed for a win9x pc since it could only use about 3 gb's but it still ran win2k at the time i installed them so i left them in.